It's just a simple ha ha, but it's inspired Talib Kweli, the entire Lox crew, and a few other cats to conjure up some quick freestyles. Scoop DeVille sampled Soul II Soul's acapella track "Back to Life" to create the driving melody to the new Joey Crack radio joint. I recognized it immediately as the sample to the first Juggaknots song I ever heard. And then I Wiki-ed it and found a Maino track spinning the sample as well a little more generously. So here they are to compare.
Juggaknots - Clear Blue Skies
Maino - However Do You Want It
Fat Joe - Ha Ha (Slow Down feat. Young Jeezy)
... but do take my word for it.
Showing posts with label Young Jeezy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Young Jeezy. Show all posts
Monday, April 5, 2010
Back to Life
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Wildflower
I'm always happy for lesser known dudes getting shine on epic releases. I can't lie, the first time I heard Lupe flow was him spinning Kanye's "Touch the Sky" over something crazy. I guess with The Blueprint 3's construction, Jay Hoffa decided he would take on that role in full force. The tracklist was just released yesterday and while it has some expected collabos for old times sake in Kanye, Swizz Beatz, Young Jeezy, Rihanna, and Pharrell, it also has relative newcomers Drake, KiD CuDi, Mr. Hudson, and newly signed Roc Nation man J. Cole. The difference in that latter group is that spitters Drake & CuDi have their hit singles "Best I Ever Had" and "Day N Nite" respectively that have put them into the mainstream conscious. J. Cole, though, doesn't even have a defining song that you can point to and say "that's him", yet. Consider him about to be put on.
I'll probably go full length on a post about him later, but for now, here's a double sampled joint between both Kanye's classic "Drive Slow" joint and Cole's mixtape fodder "Dreams".
Kanye West - Drive Slow (feat. GLC, Paul Wall, & Tony Williams)
J. Cole - Dreams (feat. Brandon Hines)
The original sample is a joint called "Wildflower" by an old jazz performer named Hank Crawford. It's gorgeous and has been re-churned for a couple other songs, but most recent and prominently as these two. Oh, and I just thought I'd mention that my wife Alicia Keys is also slated to be on The Blueprint 3. It's the first collabo between the two and I expect amazing things. And lastly, I got another double sample coming up later with the same two offenders. Except this time, it's old school Kan in what may be my favorite non-album cut ever from the man. And J. Cole chose another rip off beat. Ha.
... but do take my word for it.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Back at It
Mr. Hamilton is back at it again. Not Anthony Hamilton. Not Jeezy Hamilton.
Charles has quickly become a polarizing figure in hip hop. I personally find the short-lived (and media-created) "beefs" and assaulting commentary stupidly hilarious, but it's really getting his name out there. Unfortunately, a lot of it's just a bunch of hate. Not enough people let his music speak for him instead of what they read on gossip blogs. Or legit hip hop blogs' comment boards ...
Like I've said before, I listen to every Charles project multiple times. And thoroughly at that. So I have no words of its quality as of yet, but I'll get back to you. Chuck is still my favorite out there doing it right now. Until Andre's back, of course ... but hopefully not too speedily.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Expectations
This pretty much goes hand-in-hand with the previous Kanye post, but I've been thinking recently about what people expect from the rappers they listen to. I think that's mainly where hip hop gets its bad rap. Hmmm ...
Why would I listen to Young Jeezy unless I was in the mood to hear nursery rhyme paraphrasing from a self-proclaimed non-rapper? Why would I listen to 50 Cent unless I want to hear him going at another hip hop figure with more talent than him, threatening to murder his siblings, household pets, and the family doctor's entire patient list? I mean, the easy counter to that point is the fact that thugged-out mother goose rap is forced down our throats as the majority representation on any urban or pop radio station. Even worse on your frequent offender TV music video channels.
But that's pretty much a moot point in that radio-intended music moves the most numbers, in turn receiving the most promotion, and furthering the watered down intentions of many musicians to cease creativity and fit in a radio-friendly brand. But for the most part, I've solved that issue in my life. It's two things mainly:
1) equipping your internet's "favorites" bar
2) having a transportable car setup for your iPod
I should write a self-help book. Goodness. I see all these rapper interviews all over the place and the most retarded question ever (and one that is always asked) is what they think about the state of hip hop. Everyone asks questions they already know. Do you really need Obama to tell you during the Stat of the Union that the economy is on par with a Lil' Wayne toilet metaphor? Radio sucks and the underground scene is whiny. What other insight do you think they have that everyone else hasn't already said? But even with all of that, there's still about a hundred dead nice emcees, vets and newcomers alike, who consistently make dope music. It's that simple.
Who are you listening to? What blogs are you hitting up? Do you leave comments in support of quality artists? Do you big up rappers on their MySpace pages? You ever try to contact an indie-type artist you actually enjoy? Too many people straight complain on end like their cries for revolt will change the music industry. But it won't. Any machine driven strictly by money will remain corrupted. But individual souls aren't corrupted.
I control the playlist on my headphones. I cop the albums I think are worth my money. I bothered brandUn DeShay and Praverb enough until they musically hooked up with me. That's what I can control.
If Lil' Boosie comes on, I expect a chalk board-pitched spelling marathon. If Lil' Wayne comes on, I expect a dope line or two sprinkled in with ish jokes and autotuned moaning while people sweat it regardless. But I'll tell you what I don't expect. I don't expect to bump Gucci Mane or Jim Jones or Birdman or a multitude of others and actually feel a passion for quality, fulfilling music through their sounds.
So lastly, I ask you ... what did you ever expect from anyone?
Sunday, December 14, 2008
I Am Not Charles Hamilton
You can't talk to me about rap music today without me bringing up this dude. It's that simple. As 2008, Charles Hamilton is hip hop to me. He epitomizes everything enjoyable and worthwhile in the genre. Even though he wouldn't want me categorizing him within any genre.
It's just refreshing to hear someone who's not trying to be the next ... anybody! I'll take less money bragging, less thug posturing, less automobile endorsing, and less I-got-everything-on-lock any day of the week in my music. And in the same vein I'll take more introspection, more conceptual girl songs, more musical composition, more actual personality, more not-afraid-to-be-different while not being-different-just-to-be-different but because-I-actually-am-different, and more fun mixtapes any day of the week in my music, as well. Ladies and gentleman, let me reintroduce you to everything that is Charles Hamilton.
Name me any other label-backed musician in the world who is allowing you with full endorsement to take his music at your own discretion for an entire year absolutely free. Literally eight mixtapes worth of creative juices all for the effort of a "Right-Click, Save As". With anybody else, I'd be calling foul due to little or no creativity and each tape's prolly just a compilation of lazy freestyle verses over industry instrumentals. But not hear. Charles helms a butt-load of his own production along with fellow Demevolist producers and brings you an entirely new music experience every single time. But even you nowadays-heads would be proud as he flips ridiculous amounts of highly contemporary music into imaginative samples and creates a brand new song and concept out of something that was on the radio literally months ago. Take, for instance, Beyonce's "Single Ladies" [Ringtone Rap] or Rihanna's "Shut Up & Drive" [Lemme Know] or Hoobastank's "The Reason" [Mr. Perfect] or Young Jeezy's "Put On" [Jeezy Hamilton] or Rob Thomas' "Lonely No More" [Sweetheart (Take It Back)] or The-Dream's "I Luv Your Girl" [Wrong Side of the Bed]. Tell me you aren't completely feeling at least one of those songs or wanna hear how it got flipped. I dare you.
And now the clincher. Look deep inside of your soul and tell me who could flip the various retarded Windows computer noises into a hot hip hop joint? Seriously. This dude is beyond a genius musician. He's a real person.
Here are the links for the Hamiltonization Process 2008. It was pandemonium. And he's got beef with Soulja Boy? What else could you ask for from a rapper?
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
New New: Cory Gunz
This dude is on something else lyrically. It's been said by retard rap analysts that the word "lyrical" really doesn't mean anything, but you listen to dude and tell me it's not the very first descriptive term that hits you.
Cory Gunz Mixtapes -
It never hurts to have hip hop in the blood. Like B.o.B and Charles Hamilton, Cory finally got big time shine by being included on XXL's "next up" cover. I believe it. The craziest thing to me is that dude was set to blow like none other by being featured on the original version of "A Milli" long before Tha Carter III ever made it to the masses. But Wayne done completely cut him out of it. Everybody's got reasons for why, but I'm very confident it's very simply because Cory's verse was better. Wayne's got too much of an ego to let a lesser known commodity kill him on his to-be redonkulously big street single. Check this YouTube vid of the original verse and it's short video with it.
"Illie in the mind, really with the nine, millie when I rhyme, silly anytime,
Fine, chilly gitty on da grind, [gritty] on a dime, Penny on the line,
Plenty's in me, any guineas with em bigger than a mini and remind I'm..."
Try saying that normally without tripping. And he rides the beat something silly with it. That's that Eminem on "Gatman and Robbin'" type flow, shout outs to Jon Payne. You're allowed to be a street rapper and still take pride in what comes out of your pen. The collective world is looking at you 50 Cent, Plies, Lil' Scrappy, Uncle Murda, Jeezy, and every single other self-proclaimed "hustler rapper".
If that's not good enough, he took an extra stab at "A Milli" with Jadakiss. And I wanted to throw up his back-and-forth with Charles, too. It's good when lyricists push lyricists. Always. Weezy couldn't take the heat, so he pushed Cory out of the kitchen and turned down the thermostat.
And he rest his case. Next up.
Monday, November 10, 2008
The Laptop Mixtape [The Originals]
I wanted to give you all a frame of reference for my first mixtape in case you didn't recognize all the instrumentals I went over.
Here's the tracklist:
1. A Milli - Lil' Wayne feat. Cory Gunz
2. The Coolest - Lupe Fiasco
3. Brown Paper Bag - DJ Khaled feat. Young Jeezy, Juelz Santana, Lil' Wayne, Fat Joe, Rick Ross, & Dre
4. Heart of the City (Ain't No Love) - Jay-Z
5. Piece of Mind - The ARE feat. Truth Enola
6. Daydreamin' - Lupe Fiasco feat. Jill Scott
7. Building Steam with a Grain of Salt - DJ Shadow
8. Liberation - OutKast feat. Cee-Lo, Erykah Badu, & Big Rube
9. New - The ARE
10. Don'tGetIt - Lil' Wayne
11. Untitled - The ARE
12. Success - Jay-Z feat. Nas
13. Fallin' - Jay-Z
14. If I Ain't Got You - Alicia Keys
15. Never Let Me Down - Kanye West feat. Jay-Z & J. Ivy
16. Champion - Kanye West
17. We Takin' Over - DJ Khaled feat. Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Birdman, & Lil' Wayne
18. Mr. Carter - Lil' Wayne
... and so concludes another masterpiece
Monday, October 6, 2008
Tryinna Cash His Microphone Check
Here's another one for your ear drums.
I'm a name dropper. I can't help it.
So I'm pretty confident that I'mma have a side project going while I'm working serious of Vol. 2, A Laptop Chronicle. It's gonna be called Remix Your Ears Out and feature blends of all the crazy big songs that everybody and their mom drop a freestyle to. Stuff like "Swagga Like Us", "Incredible", "Let the Beat Build", and, of course, prolly a forty minute "A Milli"-fest.
And some awesome news, even though it means I'm gonna have to start from scratch on the "Whatever You Like" remix, "Weird Al" is dropping a T.I.-authorized parody of it tomorrow entitled ... "Whatever You Like". No joke! I'mma be on iTunes breakadawn downloading it!
... and so concludes another masterpiece
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